Where Dreams Meet Reality
by S0ci0pathicPrincess
Summary: There were no Darlings. Peter never knew a Wendy. A girl by the name of Delaney, who wore her hair as carefree as her thoughts, gazed at her dream catchers nightly and prayed they would bring her to a place she could be released. But, it is Peter who finds her, or she who finds him, shuffling through her notebooks in the dead of night. *Rated this way for a reason! More MATURE!*
1. Boy From My Dreams

Taking off her thick tortoise shell glasses and climbing into bed, Delaney sighed and watched the light from her candles' flames dance with the shadows on her deep brown curtains. She was 16 and reminded herself of it as little as possible. Growing into adulthood was her biggest fear. Who would want to get old and become an adult? Going to work everyday and paying bills, raising children and no longer having fun. No. She wouldn't think of it tonight. Not again.

The later it got into the night, the less she could focus. She found herself playing with one of the many small braids that were mixed in with her beachy blonde hair. Eventually she kicked her legs over the edge of her sea foam green comforter and out of bed into the glossy wooden floor. She reached over and grabbed her notebook and pen so, once again, she could write into the night. She wrote many stories and poems, all about wild things, adventures, her deep thoughts, fears, and dearest dreams. Why could her mother not understand? Nightly, it seemed, she ran to her room to bury her tear-streaked face into her many stuffed animals and pillows and whimper as she wished and prayed. Most often she wished of flying. Growing the wings of a beautiful angel and soaring into the clouds. Into the clouds and away from the pressures of everything.

"Go to sleep Delaney," she would often mumble to herself between yawns, "you know you're tired."

Once finally asleep, head under the covers, something strange happened. Her dream-catchers blew a bit from the sudden breeze that escaped past the curtains and the candle flames blew out. The only reaction from the sleeping girl was a soft grunt. There was a slight squeak, and then another as one of the screens covering her windows slid out of place. Soon the culprit's hand, slender and caked in dirt, grasped a curtain to slowly pull it to the side. Two glowing, mischievous, silver orbs peered around the room through the shadows and then in flew the boy, sinewy and gently tanned. A snore emerged from her sheets and Delaney felt the presence in her deep hibernation. This caused the mysterious teen to quickly back himself into the corner of her cream ceiling. He visibly relaxed when her breath returned to its normal, calmed, self. The boy lowered himself to the floor and now his full form could clearly be seen in the soft moonlight. Standing about 5'10", his lean, yet muscular, frame was hidden with vines and leaves that seemed to be fashioned into shabby shorts and miscellaneously crawled up to cover patches of his waist and torso ununiformly. His hair was a shaggy, mess of loose curls, acorn colored with the occasional subtle blonde highlight. Freckles were softly scatter amongst his sun-kissed face. He was a truly beautiful thing to behold, the young man standing there. Peter was there for a reason though, he knew she left the papers someplace around here. He just hoped to find them before he woke her.


	2. Wake Me Up

"Where is it?" he mumbled while tossing papers aside into the darkness of the room.

Suddenly, a twinkling ball of glitter speedily entered through the window accompanied by a jingling noise. The annoyed fairy planted herself in Peter's hair firmly and took hold of a curl, yanking with all her might.

"Ow Tink!" Peter whined as he swatted her away.

She was sent soaring toward the sleeping lump that was Delaney and landed square on the girl's head with a faint "humph!" escaping from the glittering creature. Delaney started to squirm and rolled over causing Tinker Bell to fall on the floor. She groggily removed the blanket from her head and rubbed her eyes while scanning the room.

"Pandora?" she called for her cat, assuming she was the reason she awoke, "Here kitty ki.. Oh! Who are you?!" She noticed the figure hunched over her desk and was immediately alarmed.

Peter stiffened and fast as lightening landed on the girl, pinning her legs between his own and covering her mouth with his hand, an alarmed expression on his young face.

"Quiet! I've seen the grown-ups here and would rather not be acquainted with them. Especially right now since I've yet to find what I'm looking for and now my fairy is missing. This is not good at all..." he trailed off, his eyes wandering about the room.

Delaney calmed and took in the boy that firmly straddled her. His hand, covering her face, was dirty and smelled of soil. Where did this beautiful stranger come from? Then she noticed the window. The boy slowly started to release her and he hovered above the bed.

"You're the one who creates the stories, right? Can you tell me where you've hidden them?", he sat cross-legged now, mid-air.

"Where did you come from..." Delaney wondered out loud.

"Neverland... Of course you've heard of it?" Peter answered. Of course she had not heard of Neverland before and she promptly began asking many more questions. Peter answered them all happily and floated around the room illustrating as he told of his land.

"Peter.. that sounds amazing..." she mused while fingering the dream catcher that hung from the lamp beside her. Pandora leaped onto her lap and curled into a ball, purring happily, "Can... Can you take me there? I don't want to be older. I want to never grow up! Please Peter? I'd make a perfect Lost Girl!"

Peter thought this over and gave her a gentle side smile. He floated about the room and picked up an Indian chief's headdress and places it amongst her waves. "Never is an awfully long time...", he scooped Tink from the floor and shook some dust into his palm, then while slowly floating as close as possible to Delaney's face, he opened his clenched hand and blew a shower of sparkling gold over her. She crinkled her nose and hovered off the bed. Pandora sneezed and, much like a newborn deer, began pawing and kicking aimlessly while floating upward as well. Delaney held tight to the terrified feline and followed the boy out the window and into the night sky.


	3. New Perspective

"Try to keep up Muh Lady," Peter called behind him in a sarcastic tone followed by a deep chuckle after seeing Delaney peddling her bare feet and flapping her one free arm while Pandora's eyes bugged out of her head and claws dug into the poor girl's chest. Delaney looked distressed to say they least. "Just relax. Let your happy thoughts carry you," he slowed, stopped, and hovered to face her as she caught up. He then took her hand, turned to face away from her, and placed it on his shoulder. "Hold onto me and you'll be fine. I promise." He began to pick up speed, past mammoth pines, homes, and then higher into the midnight sky. When Delaney looked below her, she could scarcely make out the cars on the road below and every light was a blurry star burst. That's when she began to notice it, stars, real ones, slowly growing larger and larger. The moon looked as though it would swallow them whole. Peter then craned his head so he could place his grinning lips by her hear and he whispered, "Hold on tight, don't let go. Ready?" Delaney's arm was looped around Peter's neck. She then pressed herself closer to him for safety and she could smell the beauty of nature wafting from his tanned flesh. She squeezed her emerald eyes close tight and Pandora wriggled herself into Delaney's shirt, hiding her small face into her neck. It felt like she was pulled through a cyclone. The wind and dizzying speed was unimaginable. Then, there was a bright flash. All at once, things were calm again and her body, as well as the cat's, relaxed a great deal and she slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. A land so perfect, it was unreal. A beach shaped like the crescent of the moon, a wood more majestic and deep than could ever be imagined. A small funnel of smoke escaping a clearing, teepees scattered about. The waters below her in the NeverSea seemed to reflect subtle colors of the rainbow, though none were in the sky, and glistened like diamond. Looking below you could make out the shape of an almost antiqued pirate ship, filled to the brim with the most gruesome mob of men to walk the earth: Captain James Hook's crew of pirates. On the far side of the beach, a mile or so from the ship, there was a large rock that held the shape of a decaying human skull, made of a glistening night-black stone. In the center of the island was a series of small mountains and mossy hills that produced a beautiful, trickling waterfall. Peter's warm voice interrupted her enchantment, "Welcome to Neverland..."


	4. Little Men

The salty air grazed her lungs and ruffled her cat's fur as they soared above the dream-island, as something so vibrant could not possibly exist in any reality. The world Delaney knew was full of greys and frustration. This island held no grey. You could see the eery coves and ship tainted seas, black; glancing at the tropical plants and sparkling beaches, bright white. Though it was not all innocent and comforting, the simple view of the island from above cradled her heart and excited her for the adventures to come. A frightened "_mew_" and the small whiskery nose burrowing into her neck woke her from her daydream. "What now, Peter?", she mumbled against the heavy breeze.

"Now…", he whispered, pressing his lips against her ear, his voice muffled against her hair, "we meet the boys". The mossy ground did little to absorb the impact of her landing when they reached their destination. Peter refused to let her open her eyes as they flew and, instead, led her; Delaney's small fingers wrapped around his soot-caked ankle as a guide. The slight clearing where they landed was crowded with old trees. Each tree was distinctly shaped, yet seemed to be aligned uniformly to the one next to it. Grand and demanding her attention was a significantly thicker, sturdier tree in the center of everything. It protruded from what could've been described as a hill, but too small and misshapen. Oversized toadstools stood erect in the lumpy ground, bright, exotically colored, and spotted. Slowly, they emerged from the forest around them, the Lost Boys. Hardly clothed, except for various animal skins, torn fabrics, and dirt, were six young boys. They all seemed so small, in age at least, but their eyes all seemed to be filled with a sorrow Delaney had only seen in adults. When they looked up at Peter, they all scampered together and stood as straight as soldiers. As he approached the boys, she really saw him. He almost towered over their small frames, the muscles in his back stretched beneath his tanned, grimy skin. His jaw was sharp and clenched tight, his fists at his hips while he stared at them. How could such a young and whimsical boy seem so much older than her? His body gave no hints. He could be anywhere from 15-20, but that didn't matter here. She could feel the power he held over the land. It sent a shiver down her spine.


End file.
